Provocation

As Alex stared blankly at Nebula, he suddenly felt a shadow fall over him. Then an angry voice rang in his ears. "Kid, listen when I’m talking to you!"

Alex looked up and discovered that the burly man, built like a giant tower, had somehow come to stand beside him. His bloated, ogre-like face was full of rage.

Before Alex could react, the brute stretched out his huge hands and grabbed for Alex’s head.

Alex froze for a moment, then sprang into action. He leaped up and drove an uppercut hard into the brute’s chin. The mountain-like body shuddered, then toppled backward like a collapsing mountain, crashing to the ground unconscious.

"I don’t care what rules this place has." Alex snorted coldly, stomped on the brute’s head, and swept his sharp gaze across the room. "I hope no one disturbs me!"

With that, Alex stepped over the brute’s body and, under the horrified stares of the stunned prisoners, leisurely walked into his own cell—a prison room belonging to Alex alone. Of course, that was Alex’s privilege. He had people backing him up, after all.

After shutting the iron door, Alex ignored the prisoners outside as they gradually recovered from their shock. He lay down on the bed, a smug smile unconsciously appearing on his face at his own outburst just now.

Though Alex had walked into his cell without looking sideways, he had secretly been watching Nebula’s reaction the whole time. Just as Alex had expected, his outburst had already left a deep impression on her.

The sign of a woman falling for someone was becoming curious about a man.

Seeing that sentence suddenly pop into his mind, Alex shook his head with a wry smile. "This isn’t some handsome-man scheme, but at least I’ve taken the first step!"

After comforting himself for a few moments, Alex began thinking about what to do next. He had intended to consider it before, but the Nova Corps had somehow put him to sleep and sent him straight here.

Just then, someone began pounding furiously on the iron door.

Alex frowned, about to roar at whoever it was, when he spotted an unexpected person outside the door. It was none other than Nebula.

Suppressing his confusion, Alex deliberately put on a stern face. Without opening the door, he barked, "Get lost!"

"Just a friendly reminder: you’re in big trouble!" Nebula casually glanced at Alex, who lay motionless on the bed, tossed out that line, then turned and left.

Alex was slightly stunned as he watched Nebula’s retreating back in confusion. That’s not how this was supposed to go. What’s this about? Shouldn’t Nebula have fallen for me? Why had she turned out like this? She even came to warn me to be careful. What did that mean?

Unfortunately, no one answered Alex’s questions. But it did not take long for him to understand what "be careful" meant.

As Alex peacefully ate his prison meal, several mountains suddenly appeared beside him. Like towering apes, they surrounded Alex from all sides.

Alex looked around, and the corner of his eye twitched. They really were the Eight Vajras. Each was broad, fat, and powerfully built, even more imposing than the tower-like brute from before, with extraordinary auras to match. Only then did Alex understand Nebula’s warning. So that giant brute from earlier had merely been a lowly lackey. No wonder Alex had knocked him out with one punch!

"What is it?" Alex lowered his head and continued eating his prison meal as he asked carelessly. Kyln Prison’s benefits were not bad, at least—the prison food was quite tasty. As he spoke, he deliberately shoveled in a few more bites and chewed with relish. "If it’s nothing, get lost. Don’t interrupt my meal!"

When the Eight Vajras came looking for Alex, everyone in the block instinctively turned to watch. Nebula sat at the neighboring table, calmly tilting her head as though watching a show.

Upon hearing Alex’s response and seeing his reaction, everyone was stunned once again. They stared in disbelief at Alex, who looked somewhat small amid the Eight Vajras surrounding him.

"Courting death!" With a low roar, the Eight Vajras attacked at once. Sixteen hands reached toward him simultaneously. Though there were many of them, their movements were not the least bit chaotic. They had clearly practiced this countless times—some went for his head, others pinned his shoulders, each with a clear role.

Alex secretly glanced at Nebula in the distance. After a brief consideration, he moved. Since he had already acted strong, he might as well remain strong to the end. Alex had never feared anyone.

"Since you want to court death, I’ll send you on your way!" Alex attacked ruthlessly, every strike aimed at the Eight Vajras’ vital points without holding back in the slightest. That was the only way to fit Alex’s identity. After all, those sent to Kyln Prison were notorious criminals with countless charges against them. How could he afford to be anything less than ruthless?

While Alex fought, his mind wandered here and there. The Eight Vajras, however, were having the worst luck of their lives.

The Eight Vajras were infamous throughout this prison block. What they relied on was not merely their bodies, but also their powerful fighting skills and the combat techniques they used together as a group of eight.

Yet under Alex’s overwhelming force, they were like three- or four-year-old children. In just a few moves, Alex knocked them all to the ground, where they curled up, bruised and bloodied, wailing without end.

After dealing with the Eight Vajras, Alex smugly glanced at Nebula. Then he returned to his seat, picked up his prison meal, and continued eating, completely ignoring the Eight Vajras groaning at his feet.

This scene made everyone recognize Alex’s strength and confidence once more. Their gazes held a little more awe and fear. Even the Nova Corps guards stationed around the perimeter became much more wary of Alex.

Alex, however, had no interest in any of that. He secretly extended his Psionic Power, intending to use this rare opportunity to search Nebula’s memories. Nebula was seated at the next table, less than five meters away, exactly within the range where telepathy could still be used.

But to Alex’s frustration, the instant his Psionic Power touched Nebula, it seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier. This was only the second time Alex had encountered such a situation. The first had been when Sebastian Shaw wore the helmet of the future Magneto!

"This mission really isn’t that simple!" Though his telepathy had failed, Alex was not too discouraged. He had been mentally prepared for it. If finding information on Nebula were that easy, Danger Bird would not have specifically sent him to earn this merit.

Disappointed, Alex instinctively locked his Psionic Power onto the Eight Vajras. At first, he merely wanted to learn something about Kyln Prison from their memories. But during this search, Alex unexpectedly discovered a secret!

After searching one of them, Alex still had his doubts. Only after reading the memories of all Eight Vajras did he finally confirm that it was all true.

Thinking of the secret he had learned by accident, Alex secretly glanced at Nebula. His eyes now held more confusion—and a trace of wariness.